Some day an England captain will be able to string a few press conferences
together without talking about Kevin Pietersen, but that day is not yet.
Pietersen remains, fit or unfit, available or not, in form or out, the focus
of the greatest attention, the vessel of greatest interest.

So as Alastair Cook sat down on the eve of a Test match filled with delicious
possibilities, he would have known that the cricket would take a back seat.

His inquisitors were keen to establish whether Pietersen’s latest medical
bulletin, and the decision to send him home for treatment, should be